"EPA to Stop Considering Lives Saved When Setting Rules on Air Pollution" [9]
"In a reversal, the agency plans to calculate only the cost to industry when setting pollution limits, and not the monetary value of saving human lives, documents show."


EJToday is a daily weekday digest of top environment/energy news and information of interest to environmental journalists, independently curated by Editor Joseph A. Davis [1]. Sign up below to receive in your inbox. For queries, email EJToday@SEJ.org [2]. For more info, read an EJToday FAQ [3]. Plus, follow EJToday on social media at @EJTodayNews [4], and flag stories of note by including the @EJTodayNews handle on your posts. And tell us how to make EJToday even better by taking this brief survey [5].
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"In a reversal, the agency plans to calculate only the cost to industry when setting pollution limits, and not the monetary value of saving human lives, documents show."
"A federal judge on Monday temporarily allowed an offshore wind farm to keep building after yet another attempt by the Trump administration to halt it."
"By pulling the United States out of the main international climate treaty, seizing Venezuelan crude oil and using government power to resuscitate the domestic coal industry while choking off clean energy, the Trump administration is not just ignoring climate change, it is likely making the problem worse."
"The Supreme Court on Monday morning grappled with a dispute in Chevron USA Inc. v. Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana over whether oil and gas companies can move a lawsuit seeking to hold them responsible for damage to the Louisiana coast to federal court."
"The Trump administration and northeast Minnesota Republican Congressman Pete Stauber are taking action to end a 20-year mining ban near the Boundary Waters Canoe Area that was imposed three years ago under former President Joe Biden."
"The Senate is taking up a spending package passed by the House of Representatives that would cut $125 million in funding promised this year to replace toxic lead pipes. "
"Congress is racing to undo thousands of cuts to federal science programs that President Trump called for last year when planning the government’s current budget." "After the White House called for billions of dollars in funding reductions, senators and representatives said they wanted to safeguard and even boost funds for basic research."
"A federal judge ruled Monday that the Trump administration acted illegally when it canceled $7.6 billion in clean energy grants for projects in states that voted for Democrat Kamala Harris in the 2024 election."
"Meatpacking giant JBS gave $5 million; industry soon celebrated a decision to make those on the assembly line work faster."
"After the tribe sued to stop an immigration detention center, the White House vetoed a bipartisan bill that would have expanded Miccosukee land and environmental stewardship."
"Major oil firms expressed interest — with reservations — about doing business in Venezuela as President Trump said Friday he’s seeking a deal to decide which companies will drill in the Latin American nation."
"Yvette Lyles thought of the modest brick ranch home as a Christmas present for her family. It was close to a state park where she and her kids could picnic, fish and enjoy the outdoors. A place to make memories. But she soon learned her southern Illinois community had a big problem: Recurring floods from heavy rains sent untreated sewage into streets, yards and homes where they buckled floors, cracked walls and destroyed belongings."
"Six Louisiana coastal parishes sued Big Oil over the erosion of coastal wetlands a decade ago, but they’re still fighting over what court should hear the case."
"The Environmental Protection Agency plans to let 11 coal plants dump toxic coal ash into unlined pits until 2031 — a full decade later than allowed under current federal rules."
"Texas is responsible for more greenhouse-gas emissions than Saudi Arabia or the global maritime industry. Its oil, gas and petrochemical operations discharge tens of millions of pounds of toxic pollutants into the air each year, comprising almost one-fifth of such releases in the United States. It is the nation’s top emitter of the carcinogens benzene, ethylene oxide and 1,3-butadiene."
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[9] https://www.sej.org/headlines/epa-stop-considering-lives-saved-when-setting-rules-air-pollution
[10] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/chemicals/toxics
[11] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/climate-change
[12] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/consumer
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[17] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/environmentalists
[18] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/health
[19] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/laws
[20] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/people-population
[21] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/pollution
[22] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/science
[23] https://www.sej.org/taxonomy/term/81
[24] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national
[25] https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/12/climate/trump-epa-air-pollution.html?unlocked_article_code=1.EFA.P6ui.qWj_RPRUhvnw&smid=url-share
[26] https://www.sej.org/headlines/judge-allows-offshore-wind-farm-keep-building-after-trump-opposition
[27] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/energy
[28] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/infrastructure
[29] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/water
[30] https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/5685507-revolution-wind-trump-rhode-island-connecticut/
[31] https://www.sej.org/headlines/under-trump-us-adds-fuel-heating-planet
[32] https://www.sej.org/category/region/international
[33] https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/12/climate/trump-climate-change-emissions-fuel.html?unlocked_article_code=1.EFA.Ajny.R2aLLM447EKx&smid=url-share
[34] https://www.sej.org/headlines/high-court-hears-arguments-suit-over-damage-louisiana-coast
[35] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/biodiversity-1
[36] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/fisheries
[37] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/southeast
[38] https://www.scotusblog.com/2026/01/court-hears-arguments-in-suit-attempting-to-find-companies-responsible-for-damage-to-louisiana-coast/
[39] https://www.sej.org/headlines/trump-administration-moves-reverse-mining-ban-near-boundary-waters
[40] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/land
[41] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/wildlife
[42] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/great-lakes
[43] https://www.mprnews.org/story/2026/01/11/trump-administration-moves-to-reverse-mining-ban-near-boundary-waters
[44] https://www.sej.org/headlines/states-need-more-help-replacing-lead-pipes-congress-may-cut-funds-instead
[45] https://insideclimatenews.org/news/12012026/congress-may-cut-lead-pipe-replacement-funding/
[46] https://www.sej.org/headlines/congress-rejecting-trump-s-steep-budget-cuts-science
[47] https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/10/science/trump-science-budget-cuts-congress.html
[48] https://www.sej.org/headlines/court-says-trump-illegally-blocked-clean-energy-grants-dem-states
[49] https://apnews.com/article/trump-clean-energy-democrats-blue-state-hydrogen-9269a5a839122e1b3fd487787747d47e
[50] https://www.sej.org/headlines/trump-s-biggest-inaugural-donor-benefits-worker-safety-weakening
[51] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/agriculture
[52] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/food
[53] https://capitalandmain.com/trumps-biggest-inaugural-donor-benefits-from-policy-changes-that-raise-worker-safety-concerns
[54] https://www.sej.org/headlines/miccosukee-blocked-alligator-alcatraz-then-trump-blocked-land-return-bill
[55] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/religion-faith-and-spirituality
[56] https://grist.org/indigenous/the-miccosukee-tribe-blocked-alligator-alcatraz-then-trump-blocked-a-bill-to-return-their-land/
[57] https://www.sej.org/headlines/big-oil-expresses-tepid-interest-trump-seeks-deal-venezuela
[58] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/military
[59] https://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/5682330-venezuela-oil-trump-white-house-meeting/
[60] https://www.sej.org/headlines/poor-areas-threatened-aging-sewers-see-crucial-aid-slashed-under-trump
[61] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/disaster
[62] https://apnews.com/article/trump-epa-wastewater-systems-minority-dei-8f67357e87f9fe67e8c7351b6d5244de
[63] https://www.sej.org/headlines/nightmare-fight-coastal-big-oil-suits-reaches-supreme-court
[64] https://news.bloomberglaw.com/environment-and-energy/nightmare-fight-in-coastal-big-oil-suits-reaches-supreme-court
[65] https://www.sej.org/headlines/epa-plans-give-11-coal-plants-free-pass-toxic-ash-disposal
[66] https://www.sej.org/category/topics-beat/waste
[67] https://www.canarymedia.com/articles/fossil-fuels/epa-free-pass-toxic-ash-disposal
[68] https://www.sej.org/headlines/texas-enables-petrochemical-expansion-experts-warn-health-risks
[69] https://www.sej.org/category/region/national/southwest
[70] https://publichealthwatch.org/2025/12/30/texas-petrochemical-expansion/
[71] https://www.sej.org/headlines/list/%2A/201?page=1
[72] https://www.sej.org/headlines/list/%2A/201?page=2
[73] https://www.sej.org/headlines/list/%2A/201?page=3
[74] https://www.sej.org/headlines/list/%2A/201?page=4
[75] https://www.sej.org/headlines/list/%2A/201?page=5
[76] https://www.sej.org/headlines/list/%2A/201?page=6
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[78] https://www.sej.org/headlines/list/%2A/201?page=8
[79] https://www.sej.org/headlines/list/%2A/201?page=494